CEBU, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced that as of April 20, 2024, the Visayas grid is under normal condition.
The Visayas grid has been on yellow and red alert status since April 16, 2024 after a total of 18 power plants were on forced outage, while 10 others are running on derated capacities.
A red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid's regulating requirement.
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.
The Department of Energy (DOE) continues to closely monitor and coordinate with the NGCP and all generation companies during this period of extreme heat where electricity usage is at a record high.
The DOE, in a statement, also extended its gratitude to all stakeholders in the power sector for their continuing cooperation in minimizing or avoiding power interruptions despite the red alerts.
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to improve power transmission services in Cebu, Negros, and Panay, NGCP successfully energized the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230-kiloVolt (kV) Backbone Project Stage 3 (CNP3), increasing the transfer of power capacity from Panay to Negros to Cebu, and vice versa recently.
The remaining components of the multi-island interconnection project were energized at 10:01 a.m on March 27, 2024, strengthening the transfer of power from Panay to Negros to Cebu, and vice versa.
NGCP said that the new line, with a carrying capacity of 400MW, is the 3rd stage in the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone.
This upgrades the existing Amlan-Samboan submarine cable which currently connects Cebu and Negros islands.
The first stage of the CNP Project added a new 230kV transmission line from Bacolod to E.B Magalona, while the 2nd stage upgraded the Cebu Substation into 230kV level.
While the energization of the line will definitely improve transmission services and the reliability of the grid, NGCP stressed the need for the implementation of strategic developments in the generation side to fully optimize the benefits of the strengthened interconnection.
“We have long advocated for a holistic approach to energy industry development. Generation and transmission must be developed together. One cannot be made to bear the whole burden of keeping the industry stable,” NGCP said.
The CNP3 is the last of the three critical projects the transmission service provider delivered amidst mounting calls for completion of projects, and despite experiencing numerous challenges beyond its control. — (FREEMAN)